My guess is that all the ink blots are a clue that this device is going to revolutionize the printing industry. Apple wants to do for magazines, comic books and textbooks, what they did for the music industry.

Is it just me who would find it hilarious if Steve came on stage and just said something like, "we've re-designed our website" then wandered off!

That's what I'd do. The whole PC industry has jumped on the slate idea and brought out products to take attention away from Apple and they've just shown blatantly how they are tailing them even when they bring out products first. That's why I think if there's going to be a slate input, it should just be an iphone/ipod docking display.

This way Apple can ship more ipods/iphones with OS 4 and (restricted) multitasking and not give people the dilemma of choosing between an iphone and a tablet - few people can afford both.

It will be what the 24" Cinema display is to the Macbook Pro. The main device is portable but you get a bigger screen when you need it. It simply needs a screen, big battery and SD memory as well as the speakers and microphone for incoming calls.

This way people who already have an ipod/iphone get a very cheap slate and there's still the incentive to buy the new one as the Cortex A9 + PowerVR will run so much more smoothly. This also gets round any data contract issues as it's using the phone contract you already pay for to go online.

To quote my favorite scholar, Bugs Bunny, you guys are a bunch of maroons!

I prefer ultra-maroon. That's what he says in the episode where he also uses the words nin-camp-poop and gulli-bull (an especially good one as he is making fun of a bull). Those writers were both brilliant and high.

January 27 is my birthday. I have a feeling it will be one of the most memorable in years. Hopefully my heart rate will slow down before next Wednesday; otherwise I might collapse. How do I do that? Every day there's another rumor, and now we know something's coming. Damn! I may die before my next birthday, no chance to see the multicolored creation...

Emerging from and replacing the confusion of multiple [paint splatters], Apple stands on the solid background of [a calming color], shining with a simple, familiar white purity which cuts through ALL the clutter.

It is a very powerful and evocative image. Apple must have just about the best PR firm in the world.

Ah yes! The splatter reprensents the history of the tablet, and the Apple logo, all-confirming of our hopes and dreams... that the Apple concept will leave all others behind.

As I've said previously, I believe (from what I've seen/read) that there'll be no stand-alone 'Tablet', there'll be a new iPhone hardware version with a super-fast multicore chip spawned from their PA Semi IP. There will then be an iPhone accessory which is essentially a large, multi-touch display which will house the iPhone.

While it is commonly believed that the P.A. Semi engineers are working on new ARM designs, I am not sure if the timing is right.

These guys were previously working on PowerPC designs. I don't know if it is reasonable to think that they can come up to speed on a new architecture (ARM), design, tape out and release a new chip in a year and a half.

I'm sure that P.A. Semi-designed silicon will eventually show up in various Apple products, I don't know if the time is now and the tablet is the device. After all, the tablet has been a project going on for years and years. I would guess that a more likely CPU would be a multicore ARM Cortex-A9 in a more conventional design.

More likely, a P.A. Semi-designed ARM chip would show up in the iPhone first, where power and space constraints would benefit the most from a system-on-a-chip design.

To my eyes this invitation is a homage to the revolutionary artist Jackson Pollock.

The message is clear: This will be a game changing announcement. Nothing will ever be as it was before. The choice of colors gives it the typical simple Apple style.

Revolutionary yes, but simple as kids play.

This will be the announcement that SJ has been working towards and dreaming about for the last 20 years. And this will be what he will be remembered for. The stakes are high and we will see if this will be his biggest success or, well, yes: It might turn out to be the first miss in a long time.

That graphic might make a cool image to skin the back of the tablet. Maybe I'll be the first to make one

That reminds me of a discussion in an earlier thread where we were speculating on the touch sensitive back surface. But now that you mention it, the technology would seem to be at odds with protective case maker's usual designs.

The biggest problem I see is that I can't rip the books on my bookshelf, and I'm sure not going to buy them all again.

I have this very same problem with Movies. The one thing that bugs me about iTunes movies is i can't rip the movies i own. If there was the same flexibility as music does. Then the a-la-carte marketing of iTunes would be more viable for movies, books, magazines, etc.

You mean it will be an abstract mess that many will say that my child could have created it?

We'd better hope not!

No, I am just commenting on the form of art used in the invitation. And, well Jackson Pollock is the one who revolutionized art with this particular style.

Whatever anybodies opinion on his art may be: In art, as in Interface design, coming up with the most simple - almost childlike - idea, is the most difficult thing to achieve. And, that is exactly what we have come to expect from Apple:

Revolutionary, yes. But also simple as child's play. Apple Style!

I don't think this invitation tells us anything about the device. Nothing. And that is just good and smart.

What are we to make of the graphics? Is it some kind of Rorschach Test?

Apple is normally very careful of the images they use and their inference.

I think the artistic graphics signal that the device is designed to be used for more than just consumption of digital data. What better means are there for creation of extemporaneous drawings, paintings and sketches?

Emerging from and replacing the confusion of multiple [paint splatters], Apple stands on the solid background of [a calming color], shining with a simple, familiar white purity which cuts through ALL the clutter.

It is a very powerful and evocative image. Apple must have just about the best PR firm in the world.

Not to burst your bubble, but orange is not a "calming colour" in any universe I ever inhabited. More like the exact opposite.

I have this very same problem with Movies. The one thing that bugs me about iTunes movies is i can't rip the movies i own.

Sure you can, at least for DVDs.

There are utilities (e.g., MacTheRipper) for stripping out the copy protection from commercial DVDs (you will have to do your own research about the legality of this in your area). There are other utilities (e.g. Handbrake) that will transcode the content for use in various devices like the iPhone.

It's rare that Apple fails to make multiple annoouncements. With all that press there, why wouldn't Apple avail itself of free PR?

In the past Apple has used trade shows to launch new stuff but the company isn't going to do that any more.

There is little likelihood that Apple will gather the media on the 27th and only make one announcement. Other items are going to be updated and it's a logical venue for such announcements.

My argument wasn't over how many anouncements they were going to make. In fact, if this tablet is the big announcement, it will likely be a device that bridges the gap between many devices (i.e. iphone to the macbook). I wasn't saying they would only annouce a tablet, rather the tablet will be the only NEW product. My guess is that the tablet announcement will be the last thing they introduce. See earlier posts for details. I think the new OS versions for the ATV, iPhone/iPod touch OS and soforth will be the main announcements and then the tablet will demonstrate how those updates will bridge the gap between the iPod and the Macbook.

Emerging from and replacing the confusion of multiple [paint splatters], Apple stands on the solid background of [a calming color], shining with a simple, familiar white purity which cuts through ALL the clutter.

It is a very powerful and evocative image. Apple must have just about the best PR firm in the world.

... well Jackson Pollock is the one who revolutionized art with this particular style.

Whatever (sic) anybodies opinion on his art may be: In art, as in Interface design, coming up with the most simple - almost childlike - idea, is the most difficult thing to achieve. ... Revolutionary...

Sorry, but this is the second time you've said this about Pollock and it's absolute nonsense.

Jackson Pollock is not very well thought of in most art circles anymore and was essentially a one trick pony exposed even in his own lifetime as a bit of a deceptive hack. The kind of "childlike simplicity" you see in this invitation it *not* actually "the most difficult thing to achieve" either.

To say that Jackson Pollock "revolutionised" anything (let alone all art), with his works is a bad joke. Some people still like his paintings, but even they would not argue that he was the "revolutionary" figure you are making him out to be. He's a minor artist at best.

I just saw the official invitation...hmmm, a rectangular shaped object with colors all inside of it, an Apple Logo, and the phrase "come see our creation". If this isn't a big enough hint of a Tablet, Apple has a wicked sense of humor....lol.

HERE'S MY PREDICTION.
you know how everyone keeps predicting the new name of the tablet? Well given this new invitation it looks like a paint palette.

I will officailly call this the "iPalette".

It's a device where you can mix and compile all your favorite colors (tasks, apps) together on a thin board, all within a finger's reach!

Now maybe this marketing invitation is a metphor for the device, however, several interviews with rumor-ville shows that the name of the device is something that hints more at it's function than the traditional "slate" or "Tablet".

Well, let the speculation begin. Here is what I imagine will happen...

1-Steve Jobs comes out and tells us all about Apple and the Mac brand for the past year. (It may even be an opportunity to acknowledge the stories around the 27" iMacs and lay out Apple's plans to deal with them, but I don't see this happening. Could be a really classy move though, and a great way with dealing with the negative PR that has gone around. If the way the are taking care of it will satisfy a lot of people, it could help whet the pallet. However, I think they will focus on the future.)

2- Steve Jobs will go through one or two upgrades of Apple products. The upgrades wont be major (speed bumps for MBPs for example). The point is to build the suspense.

3- There is going to be something else. I don't know what but I have this feeling SJ is going to f*ck with us a little bit. Something else, maybe software related, is getting an upgrade. Perhaps iPhone 4.0? Or maybe an announcement that Apple is putting the iPhone on T-Mobile or even Verizon (HA! I wish! Not yet, methinks). In either case, there is going to be something that seems big but isn't. It is nothing but time filler. Then, SJ is going to make like he is going to leave, that we have seen it all and start to leave...

4-"Oh yeah, one more thing! MOTHAH F*CKING TABLET! BAM!" He will go through all the features and abilities. All anyone will see and hear is the Holy Light and Songs of Angels!

Sorry, but this is the second time you've said this about Pollock and it's absolute nonsense.

Jackson Pollock is not very well thought of in most art circles anymore and was essentially a one trick pony exposed even in his own lifetime as a bit of a deceptive hack. The kind of "childlike simplicity" you see in this invitation it *not* actually "the most difficult thing to achieve" either.

To say that Jackson Pollock "revolutionised" anything (let alone all art), with his works is a bad joke. Some people still like his paintings, but even they would not argue that he was the "revolutionary" figure you are making him out to be. He's a minor artist at best.

please, mind you words my friend.
if you care to have a conversation: sure, we could exchange ideas. But I have the feeling you might be here for something else ... let me just say: your style is not very well thought of...

Running out the door, so no time to read the comments, but could it possibly be Apple saying that other tablet manufacturers have basically just been throwing paint on the wall, hoping it will stick, while the very clear Apple logo in the corner shows that Apple has a very clear vision of what a tablet really needs to be?